Tigers put loss in past

Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel threw three interceptions Oct. 11 in the Tiger's loss to Oklahoma State. He said the team has corrected its mistakes and isn't going to look back on the game anymore. "I want to flush everything that happened last week and move on," he said. ¦ JEFF ROBERSON/The Associated Press

BY
Dan Angell

COLUMBIA- Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel walked to the podium and made it clear that he wasn't there to talk about the past.

"I want to flush everything that happened last week and move on," he said. "Of course we would have liked to win, but Oklahoma State's a great team, they beat us at our own game on our home field. We're not very happy about it, but it's over."

Daniel's never been one to focus much on the past anyway, but that is especially true with No. 1 Texas coming up next for Missouri.

The Tigers will have history working against them: Missouri is 0-10 when playing teams ranked No.1 in the nation, and it hasn't won in Austin, Texas, since 1896. Although, to be fair, the Tigers have only played the Longhorns in Austin seven times in the past 112 years.

"I think if you're a competitor, you're excited about playing the No. 1 team in the nation," said coach Gary Pinkel, whose only experience against the No. 1 team as the Tigers' coach was a 34-13 loss at Oklahoma in 2003. "There's a long period where all the No. 1's have gone down. We've got to get the job done."

To get the job done, the Tigers will have to correct the mistakes that plagued them against the Cowboys last week. Although Daniel threw for nearly 400 yards, he also threw three interceptions. Two of those resulted in Cowboys points and the third sealed the game for Oklahoma State.

"He threw for, I think, a 75 percent completion percentage," Pinkel said. "That's not bad. But when you turn the ball over three times, it's not going to be very good. We didn't execute as well as we wanted to."

Daniel said that the team fixed the mistakes on Sunday in practice after having everything pointed out to them in meetings.

"The main thing is that we turned the ball over three times, and that's in direct correlation with my play," he said. "Coach C. (Christensen) came up here and told us exactly what we didn't do. But to have 79 plays and 17 first downs, we're doing some things right. We've just got to finish drives."

DON'T SOFTEN ME UP: Twice, Pinkel admitted to being a big fan of Texas coach Mack Brown, calling him everything that was right with college football.

Because of that, Pinkel wasn't surprised that Brown said Daniel made the right decision in sticking with his commitment to Missouri even when Texas tried to make a late offer.

"Mack's a class guy," Pinkel said.

But classy or not, Pinkel couldn't help but suspect that Brown was playing with his emotions when he made that comment.

"He's trying to butter me up," Pinkel said.

CURRENT SYSTEM IS FINE, THANKS: After missing out on a bid to the Bowl Championship Series last season and now needing help to get back into the national championship discussion at the halfway point of the season, Pinkel would appear to have several reasons to be in support of a playoff in college football.

But Pinkel said he is not a fan of a possible playoff system.

"I just think it's so much better right now," he said. "Every single week, the national championship is on the line, so I don't agree with it (a playoff) at all."

INJURY REPORT: Three starters were injured against Oklahoma State, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, right tackle Colin Brown and tight end Chase Coffman, but none of the injuries are thought to be serious.

Pinkel said that Maclin bruised his knee and Brown turned his ankle, but both players are expected to play. Coffman had his left hand wrapped, but said that it was merely bent while he was blocking.

"I'll be fine," he said.

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER NIGHT GAME: Missouri spokesman Chad Moller confirmed Monday that the Tigers' next home game against Colorado has been selected for television. The game will begin at 5:30 p.m. and be televised on Fox Sports Net.